


What the Heart Knows

by wisteriafalls



Category: Harvest Moon, Harvest Moon: Animal Parade
Genre: One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2019-06-23 18:50:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15612675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wisteriafalls/pseuds/wisteriafalls
Summary: Molly gives a blue feather to Gill, despite being unsure of its significance.





	What the Heart Knows

When the moment finally came, Molly didn't know what to say. She and Gill were standing under the oak tree on the hill, just outside the church. It was mid-afternoon in autumn. All of the leaves were red and orange, falling in a beautiful stream around them whenever the wind blew. She could see all of town and the distant fields from here, yet somehow, something about their surroundings was intimate.   
Gill was still wearing his suit from work. She caught him outside the office, right as he was walking to the Inn for his lunch. He agreed to follow her here.

“What did you need to talk about?” he asked, putting his hands in his pockets. 

She could tell he was nervous. She didn't know how to begin, mostly because she didn't truly understand what she was here to say. 

“Is something wrong?” he asked in response to her silence.

“No, not at all, I just...”

She still didn't know how to explain it. The circumstances that lead her to find the feather were bizarre. That morning, Molly had stepped out of her front door to see Mira in her yard, staring intently at the sky. 

“You alright?” she called, walking over to Mira. 

The sound of Molly's voice recovered her attention. Mira glanced over and waved.

“Come look!”

A bit confused and still in an early-morning fog, Molly squinted at the sky, unable to see what had caught Mira's attention. Mira gently guided her until she saw it.  
An enormous blue bird was perched on her roof. Molly's mouth fell open at the sight. It was stunning. She had never seen a bird of that size in such a bright, shimmering color. It was bathed in the intense morning sunlight, sitting patiently, like it was glowing. Even in the chilly autumn breeze, it exuded warmth. She couldn't take her eyes off of it.  
The bird turned its head to look directly at them, then took off from the roof, flying towards the Garmon Mines. 

“What kind of bird was that?” Molly asked, still struck by its beauty.

A small, bittersweet smile crept across Mira's face.

“I've only seen it once before. When I was with Jasper, just before we decided to get married,” she said, watching it fly into the distance. “I was leaving his house one evening, during sunset, and it was perched on a fence... As soon as it saw me, it took off, just like that. I always wondered what could've happened if I followed it.”

Molly listened as she saw the bird disappear into the distance, as if had flown right to the top of the mountain.

“Is it good luck?”

“I certainly think so. It's a good omen, especially for love.”

Mira said her goodbyes and continued walking the path through Molly's farm back to the mining district. Molly stayed where she was, her sight still fixated on the sky.   
If Mira regrets it, then I will, she thought. With that, she started the journey to the mountain. She could do it in one day if she really tried. Maybe the bird would rest somewhere near the bottom. Surely she wouldn't have to hike all the way to the top? She didn't know what she would find waiting for her there, but it had to be important. It was a feeling she couldn't pinpoint, yet she couldn't ignore it either.   
A good omen for love...  
She and Gill had grown so close. He was incredibly cold and distant at first, refusing her attempts at small talk, giving her no insight as to what was ever going on in his mind. Her persistence wore him down, and soon after they became friends, she realized she felt something more. And eventually, he came to terms with the fact that he did too.  
Still, what could a feather have to do with any of this?  
It all seemed so much stranger now, in the moment. How could she even phrase it to Gill? That she climbed a mountain in a single day to chase an odd bird, only to find that it left nothing behind but a single, giant feather?

And that she took the feather home with her, with only the slightest idea of what she wanted to do with it?

Of course, it all spilled out anyways.

“I walked outside this morning and Mira was there, and she told me there was this bird, this enormous blue bird, and it had to be here for a reason, so I followed it all the way to the mountaintop and I didn't know what I was doing, I-I just knew I had to for some reason and it left this,” she said, getting the long feather out of her bag, “And if you think I'm crazy, I don't blame you at all, but I just... I just feel like I'm supposed to give it to you.”

For a few moments, all they heard was the wind. Gill was quiet. Molly could hear her heart pounding in her ears. The breeze was cool, but everything about her was so warm. Her head felt like it would burst. It was a beautiful kind of anxious, tearing feeling, the kind she would remember because it would happen so few times.

“Molly... do you even know what this is?” Gill asked her, feeling the feather between his fingers. He held it with care, supporting it as if it weighed more than it looked.

She shrugged and shook her head, a slight laugh escaping.

“It's a feather. I don't have any idea.”

In that moment, she realized the full absurdity of what was happening. She had no actual plan when she brought Gill here, other than to give him this feather. She should've thought it over more. It was like she was expecting the feather to tell her what to do once she was in the right place. Instead, now she was struck by the fear that she was operating solely on a gut feeling that had no substance, and that she completely misinterpreted everything Mira said.

“There's a legend here about this kind of bluebird. They're exceptionally rare-- you won't just see them around. It's said that when someone is in love, a bird appears to that person and sometimes,” he said, examining it closer, “they drop a feather. There's a whole story behind it, I'm sure I knew it all once. But nowadays, it's a symbol. My heart flies to you, just as a bird flies to its nest...”

She listened blankly, petrified, unsure of what any of this was supposed to mean.

“Molly, a blue feather is how you propose on the island.”

All the blood drained from her face. She felt faint.

“Oh......”

She trailed off, looking at the leaves surrounding their feet. She wanted to sink beneath them where Gill couldn't see her. Color was coming back to her face; it was flushed red now, burning with pure embarrassment. I should've known, she thought. I could have read about it, gone back to ask Mira what it meant.... Anything but taking it straight to Gill, leading him all the way up here on this hill as if I had any clue what I was doing.  
Almost as quickly as those thoughts appeared, so did others. It was her first instinct to bring the feather to Gill, after all. It was natural. It felt just as destined as the bird's flight over her fields. This was embarrassing, but it didn't have to be wrong.

Gill spoke before she had the chance to explain herself.

“I hope you know I don't take these things very lightly.”

He looked down at the ground, pacing. Molly feared she offended him.

“I promise, I didn't know that it meant all that-- Really, I just found it... It was like I was lead to it and it all felt right, I don't know... I mean, I didn't know what I was doing-”

Gill stopped and looked up at her.

“So you wouldn't want to marry me?”

She could feel the rhythm of her heartbeat change in an instant.

“That's.... not what I'm saying, at all.”

The silence hung heavy around them. A cool breeze rose between them, kicking up dead leaves and rifling through the live ones still hanging on the tree. The world felt different. Molly wasn't sure she could hear the gentle tick of the church clock at the foot of the hill anymore. It was as if time was stopped, only for a moment, to allow them the peace to understand what they were feeling.  
She would be lying if she said she never thought about it. Ever since Gill told her that he loved her, the thought was nestled far away in her brain. She wouldn't mind it. In fact, it would be wonderful. Somewhere deep down, she must've known what the feather truly meant. It all had to come together for this to happen.

“Molly...”

Gill, for the first time, seemed to have difficulty speaking. She wouldn't be able to breathe again until he opened his mouth.

“If the bluebird came to you like you said, you must truly love me.”

She didn't hesitate.

“I do.”

“This feather... it's like the equivalent of the Harvest Goddess's blessing. She sees everything, knows everything that could ever happen, and she chose us for each other.”

She couldn't help but smile.

“I really didn't mean to do this to you during your lunch,” she said, smiling, wiping a few tears from her eyes.

They stood in silence for a few more moments. Molly had no idea of anything she could say that would express what she felt. Gill smiled.

“So after all this, you're not going to ask?” he said.

He let out a rare laugh, to Molly's surprise. She didn't know what to say.

“I guess I can,” he sighed. “After all you did the hardest part I suppose. I'm opposed to most mountain climbing.”

She started to laugh again too. He took the feather back from her and started to bend down.

“I can only HOPE no one saw you, scaling a mountain so early in the morning, chasing after a bluebird of all things. You must have looked like you lost your mind.”

He said it all with a glimmer in his eye; it was a rare moment of silliness. He was always so cold, so serious. It was refreshing to see him this happy.   
When he was down on one knee, he held out the feather for her.

-  
At the foot of the hill, Perry watched the scene from the steps of the church. Something about it made him feel hopeful. It had been a while since there was a wedding on the island. And he hadn't seen a blue feather in so, so long.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! This is one of several one-shots I wrote that were inspired by my most recent playthrough of Animal Parade. My favorite thing about Harvest Moon is how pure and enjoyable the romance can be. And Gill is pretty alright too.


End file.
